Press release: Horse-drawn carriage: Mayor Labeaume still insensitive to the suffering of animalsal

Montreal June 12, 2019 - With the warm days that have finally arrived in Quebec, the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA) Canada wishes to remind Mayor Labeaume that horse-drawn carriages horses will still have to endure Quebec's tourism industry under the hot sun because nothing is planned to put an end to this exploitation in the capital.

On the Montreal side, this is the last summer that horse-drawn carriage horses will have to undergo before they are banned from January 2020. On the other hand, nothing moves in Quebec City.

The opinion of Mayor Labeaume:

Mr. Labeaume had mentioned during an interview about the horse carriages of his city: "the horse-drawn carriages have been part of the DNA of the city for decades." "He should know that just because an action has been going on for years does not mean that it has to continue to exist, or that an inherited disease like prostate cancer can also be part of the DNA of an individual without being a good thing!' comments Dominique Routhier, interim CEO and animal biologist of SPA Canada.

Double standards for the Mayor:

"A horse that develops a disease, a cancer, for example, will continue to work until it is no longer productive for the industry, then it will be killed. He will not have the same luck as the Mayor of Quebec City, Mr. Labeaume to take several months off or to reduce his hours of work to rest, "says Ms. Routhier.

Conditions of the horses:

Horses must work in extreme and unnatural conditions: driving among vehicles with noise, walking on pavement, breathing in vehicle fumes - they can therefore develop breathing problems or joint problems. Not to mention the risks of accidents with road vehicles and the stress related to the noise of the road. Horses are very sensitive animals and can easily be frightened, which can cause danger to the population, as seen in Quebec City in 2017 when a horse was unleashed at the risk of seriously hurting pedestrians and injured the coach, and that another had collapsed from exhaustion in front of hundreds of tourists in shock.

"To use an animal to meet human needs is an outdated and cruel practice. It is not because horses are domesticated animals that we must continue to use them and abuse them, "explains Ms. Routhier.

As mentioned by Yves Paquet, owner of Calèches de la Nouvelle-France operating in Quebec City, in an article published on May 23, 2010 in Le Soleil, "I lose one to three horses per year (...)". It is incredibly cruel that in 2019 horses end their lives as slaves pulling carriages on asphalt, breathing the fumes of cars, from 9 to 15 hours daily at temperatures as low as -19 degrees Celsius in winter and 31 degrees Celsius in summer.

Quebec City still behind the city of Montreal:

"Mr. Labeaume there is still time to be a leader in the province in the race against the city of Montreal by banning it before January 2020! "Notify Ms. Routhier. After that date, Quebec will have lost the battle and its Mayor will be seen as a cruel person without compassion for animals. In an era where more and more people are no longer tolerating animal abuse, this label is not desirable for the tourism industry.

About SPA Canada:

SPA Canada is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to promote animal rights advocacy through education and awareness.

PRESS RELEASE

Mayor Labeaume still insensitive to the suffering of animals